Hi All

My girl Luna, a 1-year old choc lab, walks pretty stiffly on her hindlegs, she has done so for a while, but lately I've noticed that no other dog around here runs/walks like Luna. So I went to the vet today. He said that Luna is (directly translated from Danish :-)) steep angled. Luna is not bending her hindlegs - not using her knees. The vet made it sound pretty normal, and told me there was nothing I could do to change it.

Can that really be true? Have any one ever heard or seen this?

Jeanette

Think you a describing what we would call a lack of angulation - meaning there is little angle between the hip joint and the knee which makes the dog walk in a sort of stilted way. Some breeds are supposed to be like this the Chow Chow is an example.

Edit: not sure that is clear, the bone (thigh) that runs between the hip and the knee should angle forward from the hip to the knee and the lower bones (shin) should then slope back again to finnish up with the dogs feet some where near the line from the hip joint to the ground. If the dogs knee and foot are more or less in a line from from the hip, it is said to lack angualation. Bet that is no clearer wish one could draw on here.

Jackie has given you the correct terminology for it Jeanette. The degree of angulation of the pelvis and shoulders is reflected in the movement of a dog. If you stand facing the side of your dog and imagine the pelvis rotated to a steeper angle then it becomes clear that the leg will not move so far forward but will be free to move further in the rearward direction.

The effect is possibly easier to see in the front legs. Think for a minute about some of the high stepping terriers. These have very flat shoulders when compared to a Labrador. This allows the front legs to move right out in front on the forward swing but hardly pass the vertical on the rearward swing. This is designed to allow these dogs to go to earth easily to fulfill their job as hunters.

Best wishes, John

Hi Jackie and John

Thanks for the quick responses. Now I have a name for it, but is it fixable? or is it not an "illness"? Should I care extra care in certain situations? Should I not let her run  and play? Will it pass when she reaches aa certain age? Will it get worse?

Well I don't think I have any more questions right now :-) Thanks for your help.

Jeanette

If it is what John and I think then it is not an illness, it is just that the dog is not as well made as it might have been, bit like people walking with their feet turned out. It will make no difference to him except he will not do well in the show ring. There is no need to worry and there is nothing that can be done, it is just the way the dog is made, the only thing that I think could possible be a problem is the dog may be more prone to Slipping Patella, that is the kneecap becomes slack and instead of staying where it should in front of the knee joint it sometimes slips to the side, it will then slip back again. Should your dog get this condition that can be operated on but would not think once he is fully grown it would happen, in fact, it is only my thoughts that it could be a problem, it is not likely to happen anyway. John may have more idea if this condition does happen to Labs with poor angulation.

Would stop worrying and enjoy your dog, he will be fine and all you need to do is accept your vets word and let the dog get on with life as it suits him.

Sorry I realise I have changed the sex of your bitch, because I have mostly dogs I think I call all dogs he and him, apologies.  

Just as any other breed some have a better geometry than others. If your vet is not concerned then I would not be either. I would imagine your vet would have checked her out and is happy. As Jackie says, enjoy her. I think we have most of us have in the past had a slightly less than perfectly put together dog, my own was my Bethany who became my all time favourite! And I figure she was better put together than me anyway!

Best wishes, John

Hi John

Thanx again. And I'll try really hard to stop worrying. Perhaps I'm so concerned as Luna is my first dog. But who knows

Jeanette

our lab used to run like this, a bit like a cow or wooden top running in the back legs, but it never hurt her, she still swam, ran etc like a lunatic.

Hi

Thanx I can see that Luna runs around all the time. And I'm convinced that if she was hurting she wouldn't run and play as much as she does.

And thats what I can read out of your reply.

Jeanette

Hi Jackie

Its okay. And thanx I'll try to stop worrying. And she isn't to be used as a show dog, so everything is fine.

Jeanette